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1/15 Hello! I’m a PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley, finishing up my thesis on deindustrialisation & its impact on communities across the UK.
Motherwell had been at the centre of the Scottish steel industry since the late 19th century, when Colvilles built Dalzell works. #SWOS20
Motherwell had been at the centre of the Scottish steel industry since the late 19th century, when Colvilles built Dalzell works. #SWOS20
2/15 On the expectation that steel demand would continue to rise, and wishing to deal with persistent unemployment in postwar Lanarkshire, Colvilles was given £50 million government loan to construct a modern hot strip mill, which opened in stages from the late 1950s #SWOS20
3/15 The size and location of Ravenscraig was the result of the peculiar complexity of postwar industrial policy: the mill was built to complete in the market but also to provide employment in a distressed area. These trade-offs would weaken its competitive position #SWOS20
4/15 Thatcher came to power in 1979 determined to overturn postwar industrial policy. British Steel’s new chairman Ian MacGregor saw Ravenscraig as superfluous and was determined to shutter it. But the Scottish Tories feared the electoral consequences of closure #SWOS20
5/15 When the Gartcosh cold mill was threatened in 1985, the ‘Save our Steel’ (SOS) campaign was launched, bringing together local people & trade union/political leaders to fight the closure plans. There was even a march to London to appeal to both Thatcher & the Queen #SWOS20
6/15 The campaign to save Gartcosh failed, but the campaign extracted a gov. promise that Ravenscraig would remain open a minimum of 7 years. However, within three years, the mill was under threat again, and SOS relaunched its campaign, including concerts & a petition #SWOS20
7/15 The SOS campaign was determined to ensure UK-wide trade union unity in opposing Ravenscraig’s closure. This united front largely held, even as the Thatcherites attempted to turn English, Welsh & Scottish steelworkers against each other out of desperation #SWOS20
8/15 The SNP, excluded from the official SOS campaign, was less interested in UK-wide unity. They argued that an English-dominated steel company (state or privately owned) would never put Scottish interests first. The solution thus was a stand-alone Scottish steel company #SWOS20
9/15 Although SOS leaders rejected these ideas, their campaign increasingly appealed to nation rather than class, touting Ravenscraig as a symbol of Scottish ingenuity and Scottish national pride. A focus of the campaign was on middle-class Scottish seats with Tory MPs #SWOS20
10/15 On 9 January 1992, British Steel announced that it would be closing Ravenscraig within 8 months. The 7 year guarantee was betrayed. The SOS campaign had apparently failed. But the effort to rally the Scottish nation behind Ravenscraig had been remarkably successful #SWOS20
11/15 Scottish Tories were terrified of the electoral consequences and pleaded with British Steel & English ministers to save the mill. ‘Craig became a symbol of Westminster’s betrayal, held up by the SNP in future campaigns. #SWOS20 See @Aluminiumville https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/labours-love-lost-the-problems-for-the-scottish-labour-party/
12/15 Jim Phillips, @VAWright10 & @ProfJTomlinson state that Scotland & England diverged politically in the 60s & 70s over the industrial moral economy. I argue that Ravenscraig was the moment when Scots recognised the extent of this divergence #SWOS20 https://doi.org/10.1093/tcbh/hwz005
13/15 Postscript: After closure, Ravenscraig became one of the largest brownfield sites in Europe. The Lanarkshire Development Agency produced glossy books, promising a massive redevelopment project that would supposedly create 1000s of jobs and uplift the local economy #SWOS20
14/15 However, in 2017, 25 years after the closure, most of the site remained vacant. There have been local concerns about decontamination, key components of the redevelopment plan have been abandoned, and it is not clear how any of it will benefit the former steelworkers #SWOS20
15/15 This statue, on the side the newly built road, memorialises the workers of Ravenscraig. But in the post-industrial reality the workers & their families have been largely forgotten. The Craigneuk wards closest to the mill site remain among the poorest in Scotland #SWOS20
Thank you for reading! I’m only able to scratch the surface in this format, so I look forward to any questions and to speaking about the history of Ravenscraig in more detail in the discussion #SWOS20
